Classes, classes, classes!

I have been busy this week taking classes. All jewelry related of course, none involving polymer clay though,sorry. This past Saturday, during a Bead show in Clearwater, Florida, I took a Kumi-himo class taught by Audrey Parramore. Audrey is very talented and an exceptional and patient teacher. Here is a picture of a bracelet I made a couple of days after her class.
I have also begun to take some wire wrapping classes near my home. I will have more to say along with photos at a later date.
Lastly, but not least, I took a riveting class at a local bead store in Tampa. Holly is an excellent teacher and also has a shop on Etsy. Here is a photo of what I have done so far.

I really love copper and enjoyed the riveting. Now I know what it is! I also got to experience using Liver of Sulfur for the first time. Not very pleasant, but it gives a great aged patina on your metalwork. Thanks to all these fine ladies who have been so kind to share their skills and knowledge with me.

New Year, New Stuff

I sure hope everyone has had a happy and blessed Christmas,Hannukah,Holiday and New Year. And I wish for all of us a safe,joyfilled and prosperous 2009.
I can't believe that it has been a month since I have posted. That's really terrible. But I must say, December and the entire season of Advent was very different for me this year than previous years, and it was probably best that I stayed quiet for awhile.
But I have been busy! I came up with a new polymer clay technique. I took some Ecru and Pearl Premo clay and fully mixed them. Then I added permanent inks directly from the stamp pad in dark green, brown, some rust and a couple other colors, then remixed the clay to incorporate the inks, but not fully mix them in. The result was a kind of stone-like marble effect. I shaped the clay into flat, round lentil shapes, baked to cure them, then sanded with wet/dry sandpaper in 400, 600 and 800 grit (I really need to get 1000 grit and higher!). Then I buffed them to a nice matte sheen with my Dremel and buffing wheel. These little buffers come with their own mandrel so you don't need to screw it on. You can find them here .
One of the necklaces that I made using one of my new polymer clay stones is pictured at the beginning of today's post. Here's another one:

I've also been busy making jewelry with resin beads, beautiful lamp work and glass beads. Here are some of my most recent:




To see more visit my Etsy store
or my new Artfire studio, yes, on Artfire they are called studios, not shops or stores. I will write a little about Artfire on my next post. I just started selling there in the middle of December. Actually, I haven't sold anything there yet, but I'm getting the word out.
Also, I really need to tell you about some wire techniques I have learned. The second to last picture shows it. It is called Ancient Egyptian Spiral and it is so cool. Once you get the hang of it it is not too bad, but it does take a while to complete. I made this one using copper wire and a lovely lamp work bead from SFD Lampwork Design. They do really beautiful work, please check them out. Have a Happy New Year! Until next time, and I promise not to wait a month!

Etsy Seller Spotlight

I recently purchased the most incredibly unique, stunning necklace from a fellow Etsy Seller. I was so impressed with her style and how out-of-the-ordinary it was; and you can tell from my own jewelry, I like more uncommon than common; that I decided to do a spotlight on this seller and hope that this will be the first of many more spotlights to come. Below are photos of my purchase from Nubia.



Her name is Nubia Goncalves and you can see her Etsy shop here.

What I found so extraordinary about Nubia's jewelry, were the materials she uses to create her works of wearable art. Nubia is from Brazil and uses organic plant material from her native country as the focal pieces in her jewelry. I was able to interview her via email recently so I will let her explain it herself.

Where do you live?
Nubia: I live in Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in South America.

How long have you been making jewelry?
Nubia: This is quite recent. I started last year, around September or October, after I retired. My last job was with a Brazilian NGO, that is a non-governmental organization, where I worked for about 21 years. It was an amazing experience!

What materials do you use in your jewelry?
Nubia: My first jewelry was made mainly from Brazilian seeds and wood. But lately my favorites are dried organic products. I also like to mix them with gemstones or other materials to give a different touch. I also use alpaca wire,nylon coated stainless steel, leather cord and cotton and some sterling silver for earrings.

Why did you decide to use organic products in your jewelry?
Nubia: Brazil is a very warm and colorful country and especially Rio which has tropical weather, so I thought it would be nice to put these colors in my jewelry. Also using organic products helps the people who collect and sell them as they are usually from poor communities and need our support. They are also quite popular here and I thought that, especially in my international shops, it would be good to show people outside Brazil what we have here in my country.

How do you prepare these organic materials to make them into jewelry?
Nubia: I have different suppliers.The seeds or pods come from the Amazon region, the dried products come from Minas Gerais which is a state quite close to Rio; and the gemstones I get from other suppliers ready to use. I get some of the dried products in their natural color and I dye them with a mixture of alcohol and pigments. You are not to put water on them. They also come in their natural state, that is I have to drill a hole or use a special glue to fix them. That will depend on the design.

How long have you been selling on Etsy?
Nubia: I registered with Etsy in July of this year to see how it was, browse a little, and then decided to open my shop last October 16th.

Do you have other venues where you show or sell your jewelry?
Nubia: I also have a shop on a Brazilian site called Elo7 and the European DaWanda. I have a blog and a page on Flickr. I have had Open Houses in the past and mouth to mouth advertising has been the greatest among friends.

In additions to your jewelry,what are your other interests or crafts?
Nubia: I also paint. I had painting lessons in The School of Visual Arts of Parque Lage, in Rio. This is a very good and popular school of arts in Rio. I use acrylics on canvas and paper and also love monotype and etching. I am an art lover! Apart from my art I am an Interpreter and Translator. All of these keep me quite busy!

What are your hopes for the future of your jewelry business?
Nubia: I am thinking about starting silversmithing, jewelry design and expand to other materials such as resin or clay. Those would go very nicely with the seeds and dried products I use. I will also continue with my shops and hope to improve them as much as I can. What started as a hobby is really becoming a business although I hadn't planned it to be like that. I am quite happy how things are going!

Here is a small sampling of some of Nubia's jewelry pieces and the organic materials she uses:





Nubia, I am sure you will have much success, you are a very talented woman.

Faux Dichroic Glass Pendant

I spent much of the day working on this. It is a technique for a faux dichroic glass effect on polymer clay. To learn how to do this check out Donna Kato's site for a detailed tutorial.
Good luck and have fun!

Update of First Craft Show

Well, I did it. I got through my first craft show and it was a lot of fun. It was sponsored by the Women's Guild of my church and held in the church social hall. It ended up being a lot bigger than people thought with at least 40 different vendors, so there was plenty of variety. Of course there were several jewelry sellers, but we were spread out, and no one carried jewelry like mine.

All in all, in 7 hours I made 15 sales and sold 22 pieces of jewelry, gave out a lot of business cards and have one special order.

It may not seem like much to seasoned crafters, but I think for a first time, it was pretty successful for me. I got a lot of exposure and those who did not buy, were genuinely impressed and seemed to like my jewelry.

Attendance/turn out was low too, a lot of those who came said they had no idea it would be so big, and if more people knew how many vendors there were with such a variety of wares, more people would have come. Well, maybe next year the word will get out. I know I will be advertising it for sure.

Have some pictures of my display. Not too bad for the first time also. My pics aren't too good. I am waiting for Kelly to email the ones she took with her big Canon digital with the professional lenses.

On a side note,please pray for Joanna's family.My son lost a good friend on November 16th. Thank you.

Ok Tweeters - Lets Save a Young Girls Life!

Ok Tweeters - Lets Save a Young Girls Life!

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Getting Ready for First Craft Show

Since I've been back from New Mexico, I have been a busy little bee working furiously to increase my inventory for my very first craft show. I am excited and nervous of course.

It will be for one day only, November 22nd, at my church. I figure, even if it is not successful for me, I will learn alot, and this is probably the best place to start and get my feet wet.

Here's a peek at some of my newer items for the show:

Thanks to Michele for taking so many pictures for me. I can't upload even a quarter of all the pictures she took for me. She is a lifesaver. Visit her Etsy store here.